My One And Only
by afilmmefatale
Summary: Vampires and witches are natural enemies. Bonnie and Damon are no exception. Shaken by loss, Bonnie journeys into the shadows of dark magic - and Damon is the only one who can bring her back. Rated M for some violence, adult language and adult situations. (S01-S08 Bamon) (No explicit content but plenty of romance)
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from The Vampire Diaries TV show, which is the property of the CW. I do not claim any ownership over the characters or the world of The Vampire Diaries. This story is of my own invention and is not part of the official story line._

* * *

"Hold still," Caroline barked. She tugged the blonde wig onto Bonnie's head.

"It's too small," Bonnie said, grunting.

"Your head is too big. Just breathe." Caroline gave it one last yank, the wig cutting into Bonnie's hairline. "There. That wasn't so bad." Caroline smiled in triumph.

Bonnie breathed through the pain. She could already feel a headache setting in. If the wig didn't adjust soon, she planned to toss it while Caroline wasn't looking.

 _What does a natural blonde need with a blonde wig anyway?_

She had agreed to wear it only because Caroline insisted. And sometimes it was easier to just give in to Caroline than to resist.

Bonnie caught her reflection in the vanity mirror. The dark bags under her eyes were a reminder of getting only three hours of sleep last night, and two hours the night before. When she did manage to doze off, flashes of glowing amber eyes chasing her through the woods jolted her awake. The worst - and weirdest - had been this morning, when she woke to find her bare feet caked with mud.

"About that necklace I gave you," Caroline said, adjusting the stylish black hat on her own head. A small black veil completed the look, Caroline's fashionable version of a witch's hat. It had been Bonnie's plan to dress as a witch and Caroline had co-opted her idea. "I'm going to need it back." Caroline leaned toward, applying blood red lipstick.

"What do you mean you want it back?" Bonnie asked, noticing how Caroline was oddly avoiding her gaze. Considering her nightmares coincided with receiving the strange necklace, Bonnie should have been happy to rid herself of the amber jewel. Instead, she had this visceral urge to keep it.

"I need it," Caroline said. "Plus, you said yourself that it was ugly."

Bonnie had actually called it unstylish, and more as an insult to the guy who'd gifted it to her best friend. Damon was Caroline's newest conquest, a recent arrival to Mystic Falls. Something about him, and his younger brother Stefan, seemed off. And from what Caroline had told her about Damon, he seemed to treat Caroline like crap.

"You gave it to me as a gift. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't keep it?" Bonnie asked.

"I'll only be offended if you don't give it back to me."

"Sorry, Caroline. I'm not giving it back."

"But Damon will be pissed at me. And he's scary when he's pissed," Caroline said, a hint of fear in her voice.

Bonnie squinted at her friend in the mirror. "Scary how?"

Caroline shrugged her shoulder and Bonnie felt a sudden surge of anger. "Caroline, does he hurt you?"

"Of course not," Caroline said, though the uncertainty in her voice said otherwise. "Damon's great to me." She smiled lasciviously. "Plus he's really good in bed."

"Eww," Bonnie said. She turned to face Caroline, her voice turning serious. "You would tell me if he ever hurt you, right?"

"Yes, Mom." Caroline rolled her eyes. "How about if I just borrow-" Caroline grabbed the jewel and a loud pop resounded throughout the room. "Ouch!" She cradled her hand against her chest. "What was that?"

Bonnie took a step back. "You were just going to take it?" She wrapped her hand protectively around the jewel.

"You don't understand, Bonnie," Caroline said, desperation eclipsing her face. "I need it."

"Well, you're not getting it. And if Damon has a problem with that, he can come take it himself."

Caroline looked as though she might make another grab for the necklace. Bonnie was a little pissed and offended, but also afraid. She was starting to believe Grams's drunken ramblings about witches and spells and talismans. If the necklace had some sort of protective spell, she wasn't sure what it would do to defend itself, including harming her best friend.

"If you try it again, I won't speak to you for a week," Bonnie said.

Caroline's eyes darted between the necklace and Bonnie's eyes. "Fine!" She grabbed her things and stormed out of the bedroom. "Good luck covering those enormous bags under your eyes!"

Caroline slammed the front door, leaving Bonnie alone in the empty house. She let out a breath. A flash of light in the mirror caught her attention. A dim light sparked in the center of the jewel. "What the…"

The lights in the bedroom flickered and then burned out completely, eclipsing the room in darkness except for two bulbs along the top of the vanity mirror. A figure suddenly appeared - behind Bonnie. She screamed and turned around to find the room empty. She turned back to the mirror and the woman was still there. She was dressed in a beige cotton dress and matching bonnet, her full skirt reaching to the floor.

The woman's intense amber eyes watched her. "Good evening, Bonnie. Pleased to finally meet you."

Bonnie gripped the edge of the vanity, fear screaming at her to flee, but curiosity forcing her to meet the woman's eyes – the eyes from her nightmares. "Who…who are you?"

"Forgive me for not introducing myself properly." The woman took a step forward. "I'm Emily Bennett."

"Emily?" Bonnie recognized the name from a story Grams had told her when she was younger, about an ancestor who had been one of the most powerful witches in the country. And who lived when slavery was legal.

"Yes. I apologize for the nightmares, but it was the only way to communicate with you."

"You're the one from my dreams?"

Emily nodded. "I need your help."

"Why?" Bonnie shook her head. "How is this even possible?" For all she knew, this was just a hallucination brought on by my sleep deprivation.

Emily smiled. "You do not really believe that, do you? I am as real as you are."

"But if you're really Emily Bennett, that means you died - like over 100 years ago."

 _And that you're a witch._ Bonnie chose to ignore that last thought.

"Death isn't as definitive as you think. And I wish I could tell you more – there is so much I could teach a witch like you – but there is no time." Emily moved closer. "Damon needs to know the truth about Katherine."

"Damon? How do you know Damon?"

"That is a long and complicated story, one I hope to share when there is more time. But we must work quickly."

Bonnie shivered at the intensity in Emily's gaze.

"Don't worry, this won't hurt," Emily said in a gentle voice.

"What won't–"

Emily's reflection passed through the mirror and into Bonnie's body, hurling Bonnie's consciousness into darkness.

* * *

Damon sipped fruit punch spiked with bourbon, waiting for the witch to arrive. Caroline smiled flirtatiously at him from across the school gym, chatting with the friend he had compelled her to make conversation with. Caroline's incessant chatter would only have distracted him from the task at hand.

He sighed. Once he got the necklace back, he could finally cut Caroline free. Or drain her of blood. He wasn't quite sure which he preferred just yet. She had shown up to the dance without the necklace and without the witch. Now he was forced to endure teenagers in dorky Halloween costumes and the horrendous rent-a-DJ until she actually showed up.

Damon needed the talisman to finally free Katherine from her decades-long captivity. Emily had sealed her and twenty-seven other vampires in a tomb below Fell's Church, shielding them from the fire the Founder's council had set. His life had been empty and incomplete without Katherine, and his desire to be with her outweighed all other matters in his life. Damon had given the necklace to Caroline for safekeeping, not expecting that she'd hand it off to the witch.

Damon spotted Bonnie as she walked through the double doors of the gym. She was dressed in a black mini dress and pointy black witch's hat. Damon admired the contrast of the blonde wig against the nutty brown skin of her slender neck. His canines tingling.

It had been some time since he'd tasted witch's blood and from what he had caught of her scent, he suspected Bonnie's was exquisite.

Bonnie scanned the gym. Her eyes landed on him and she smiled. Not the reaction he was expecting. She usually avoided eye contact or scurried away whenever he came near. Tonight, however, she walked straight for him. Her stride was confident and enticing, so unlike her usual, timid self. Damon kind of liked it.

She maneuvered his way, effortlessly avoiding dancing teens, her eyes locked on him. He downed his fruit punch, wishing he had spiked it with more bourbon. Witches tended to throw him off his game. Bonnie was no exception, though she was nowhere near as distracting as Emily had been when he'd first met her.

"Damon," Bonnie said, stopping in front of him.

"It's about time you showed up," Damon said, crossing his arms.

"Kind of you to wait for me." Bonnie smiled. Damon noticed a tinge of amber glowing around the pupils of her hazel eyes.

 _Have they always been that color_? he wondered. He and Bonnie had only met a handful of times, but he would have noticed something like that.

"Not for you," Damon said, closing the space between them. "For that necklace around your pretty little neck."

Bonnie pouted. "I'm disappointed."

She stepped forward. Her scent, as sweet as fresh cinnamon rolls, flooded his nostrils. Saliva oozed down his aching canines.

Bonnie suddenly wrapped her arms around Damon's neck, pulling him down towards her face. And before he could react, she kissed him.

Her lips were supple, demanding – irresistible. He found himself returning the kiss, clasping his hands along her waist. He heard Caroline gasp from across the gym. Kissing Bonnie reminded him of a happier time, long ago, when he was human and in love for the first time.

 _Emily_.

The realization ripped Damon out of his trance. He yanked her arms from around his neck. "Emily?"

Bonnie smiled, her eyes glowing amber. "I hoped you would remember me."

It made sense now – the confidence, the eyes, the kiss. "What have you done to Bonnie?"

"Bonnie is fine. She is merely sleeping."

"You've been dead for over a century."

"A witch's talisman is more than a source of power – it is an extension of her soul. A piece of her spirit that lies dormant until it finds the right vessel. When you stole my talisman from the Founder's Ball, it sought a host for my spirit and found Bonnie. And what better host than my own descendant; one with the potential to be the most powerful witch of my line."

"That necklace is mine. And you will give it to me."

Her eyes sparkled with mischief. "Take it."

Damon swept out his hand with the speed of a cat, barely making contact with the jewel before his hand burst into flames. He yelled more in surprise than pain, though his hand burned with a vengeance. "What the hell?"

"Find me, if you can," she said, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Cool trick," said a teen dressed in a skintight Spiderman costume, as Damon writhed in pain.

Damon dunked his hand into the nearest container of liquid he could find – a barrel filled with water and bobbing red apples. He sighed, the cool water soothing his burning skin.

Damon seethed. Emily had the uncanny ability to blind him with emotions. He needed to focus on getting the necklace back. It was the only way to free Katherine from her tomb and the window to rescue her was quickly closing. He needed to rescue her. She was the reason he'd returned to Mystic Falls after all this time.

Damon caught Bonnie's scent just outside of the gym entrance. He picked up her trail almost immediately. Emily would pay for burning him twice.

* * *

Bonnie awoke from her mental slumber to find herself walking in the woods.

 _Where am I?_

"This is where I've been trying to bring you for the last week." Emily spoke in Bonnie's voice, apparently still in control of her body.

 _This is the way to Fell's Church. Why did you bring me here?_

"The truth is buried here." Emily stopped in front of Fell's Church, which was little more than a pile of burnt rubble.

 _Please let me go_. Bonnie just wanted her body back. And to be normal again.

"Being a witch is a gift, Bonnie. The sooner you accept that, the easier all of this will be. Whether you want to believe it or not, you have a role to play in all that is to come soon." Emily turned from the church, facing the dark woods. "That took you longer than I thought it would. Your vampire senses must be declining in your old age."

"I've only gotten better with age, witch," Damon said, stepping out of the darkness.

 _Damon's a vampire?_ If Bonnie were being honest with herself, she had suspected he was something less than human since she'd first met him.

"There is still so much for you to learn," Emily spoke to Bonnie, "so much for me to teach you. He's a lot older than he looks - 145 years old. He has not walked the earth as a human since 1864."

"Talking to ourselves now, are we?" Damon asked.

"Bonnie is here with us, though I still control her body. So think twice before attacking, unless you want me to set more than just your hand on fire."

Damon glared but remained as still as a statue.

 _I still don't understand how you and Damon know each other._

"Katherine Pierce…" Emily said. Bonnie felt a rush of anger that was not her own. "She was a vampire – and the one who turned Damon into the monster he is today."

Damon smirked. "Witches are so dramatic."

"I was her handmaiden and friend," Emily continued. "Until she stole the only man I ever loved."

 _You and Damon_...

"Were lovers."

Bonnie would have shuddered if she could.

 _But he's a jerk who bullies high school girls. How could you possibly have fallen in love with a creep like him?_

"He was not always this way. Katherine erased all traces of the gentle man I loved."

"You've got that backwards, witch," Damon said with venom in his voice. "Katherine saved me. She freed me from a life of human misery."

"She filled your head with lies. She ruined us – she ruined you."

"Enough," Damon said, snarling. "You're the one who broke us. And now you're a spirit with a grudge, hijacking a teenager's body." Damon stalked closer. "I came for the necklace and I'm not leaving here without it."

Emily clutched the talisman around her neck. "You gave this to me the night of the Founder's Ball – the first night we kissed."

"Necklace. Now," Damon said, moving closer.

"It's useless to you. It cannot bring vampires back from the dead."

Damon stilled. "What are you talking about?"

"Katherine is dead."

"Liar," Damon said, snarling.

Emily laughed. "Do you really think I would save the vampire who destroyed my life?

"But I saw you cast the spell…"

"A spell to mask the screams of your precious Katherine as she burned alive."

Bonnie inwardly cringed at the rage twisting Damon's face. "You're lying, I would know if she were dead."

"Obviously not."

Everything happened all at once. Emily slipped from her body, leaving Bonnie standing there, confused and afraid. Damon charged for her. He sank his teeth into her neck.

"Damon, no!" Bonnie yelled. The pain of his razor sharp teeth and the sound of him slurping her blood turned her stomach. "It's me Bonnie," she said weakly, her energy quickly draining.

 _Save me._

Damon yanked his teeth from her neck as she crumpled to the ground. Bonnie blacked out for the second time that night.

* * *

Damon stepped from the steamy shower. He rubbed his hair dry with a towel and wrapped it around his hips.

Bonnie stirred from his bedroom. Something – he guessed some witchy manipulation – had stopped him before he drained her past the point of no return. He even fed her his blood to help her heal.

"Witch's blood," he murmured, heading for the bedroom. Some witches, the most powerful ones, had been known to spell their blood when attacked by a vampire. He'd heard of a vampire dying of blood poisoning after feeding on the life force of a witch.

Luckily, Bonnie hadn't learned that particular spell yet. He guessed she'd spun a cessation spell more from survival instinct than skill. Either way, Damon had saved her from himself and brought her home with him.

Damon entered the bedroom to find Bonnie sitting up in his bed. She looked rather refreshed for someone who had almost died a couple of hours ago. His flannel shirt looked good on her.

 _Where the hell did that come from?_

"Where am I?" Bonnie asked, pulling the blanket up to her chin. Her eyes landed on his bare chest and then to the floor.

"My bed," Damon said, his smile predatory.

Bonnie blushed and Damon realized for the first time how beautiful she was. Bonnie, awkward and shy, yet with energy radiating off of her in waves, was one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen in his life.

 _Witch's blood._ He refused to believe his feelings were more than a byproduct of her spell.

He swallowed, hoping his unaffected tone hid his sudden nervousness. "Don't worry, little witch. I won't bite."

"You tried to kill me," Bonnie said, her hand shooting to her neck. "But there's no wound? I'm completely healed."

"Vampire's blood," Damon said, stalking her way. "My gift to you."

Bonnie's eyes raised to his hips and she blushed even more. Her eyes darted to the ceiling.

"So nervous," Damon said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Odd, considering we've kissed already." He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.

"What?" Bonnie squeaked, scurrying away from Damon and out of his bed.

"At the dance. And it was surprisingly not that bad," Damon teased.

"That was Emily, not me." Bonnie spotted her dress and snatched it from the back of his chair. She began unbuttoning the flannel shirt, stopping when she realized he was still watching her. "Turn around, Damon."

"You're no fun," he said, before turning his back to her.

"And don't even think of laying another hand on me. Or I'll set it on fire."

"Oh, you've got quite a way to go before you master that little trick. You're no Emily."

"Maybe. But at least I'm not a liar like she is."

Damon turned to face her, just as she slipped the dress over her head. "Hey!" Bonnie yelled, yanking the dress down to cover her form.

"Whatever you're hiding, spit it out."

"Katherine's not dead. Emily lied to you."

"I knew it! I knew she was still sealed in that tomb beneath the church."

Bonnie hesitated before responding. "She's not. She was never in that tomb. Katherine's alive because she escaped before they burned down the church."

"That can't be right." Damon had trouble processing what Bonnie was saying. "That would mean she's been free all this time."

The realization filled him with joy - and rage. She was alive and had never bothered to contact him. Not one word or call or sign of her existence. Damon banged his fist against the mattress.

"Watch it, vampire. You can't hurt me." Bonnie inched toward the open door.

"Oh, I doubt that."

"If you hurt me, you'll never find Katherine. I'm the only one who knows where she is."

And with that Bonnie darted from the room.

Damon smiled. He liked a good chase.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I ship Bamon so much and can't wait to see where this season leads. Bonnie is a badass and it makes complete sense that she would fall for someone like Damon. And Damon is a lot more sensitive than he appears, so falling in love with a gentle soul like Bonnie is just inevitable. Looking forward to reading your reviews and I'll do my best to update this story on a regular basis!**


	2. Chapter 2

Bonnie slowly walked down the hallway of the Salvatore Boarding House. The slinky, black dress restricted her movement and she took small steps to avoid twisting an ankle in the black stilettos. She had atrocious balance and never wore heels, though she'd had a quiet obsession with designer shoes since middle school. Her heels clicked against the floor, the red bottoms reflecting in the polished hardwood.

Bonnie admired the various paintings adorning the walls. She doubted Damon had an appreciation for fine art and pegged Stefan as the art collector in the family.

Bonnie stepped into the living room. A chandelier emitted soft light from above. Damon sat on a red couch sipping an amber drink from a crystal tumbler. She guessed it was bourbon, his favorite according to Caroline. He sat staring straight ahead at the fireplace, which was full of thick logs but no fire. The light aroma of cedar filled the room.

"What took you so long?" he asked.

"What is this?" Bonnie asked, not quite sure how she'd arrived at the boarding house in the first place.

In the blink of an eye, Damon stood in front of her. She did her best not to flinch. He wore a matching black dress shirt and suit tailored impeccably to his slim body. A red silk tie finished off the outfit.

"This is your dream, not mine," he said, his eyes trailing her neck.

 _No way. Why would she dream about a jerk like Damon?_

"If that were the case, Channing Tatum would be here instead of you," Bonnie said. "Showing a lot more skin," she blurted out. Bonnie slapped her palm over her mouth, embarrassed by her frankness

"Not that innocent after all, are we?" Damon grabbed her hand and twirled her around.

"Whoa." Bonnie somehow managed to keep her balance in the ridiculously high heels as he spun her in a full circle. He stopped her mid-twirl to face him. Damon rested both hands on the exposed small of her back, pulling her flush against his chest. He radiated sandalwood and lavender, the fragrance deceptively comforting.

"You look good in that," he said, swaying with her in his arms. His translucent blue eyes were as hypnotizing as his scent. A jazz ballad played in the background.

Bonnie gulped. Her heart fluttered as fast as a hummingbird's wings.

 _He's hot_.

Suddenly, the logs in the fireplace blazed with bright orange flames.

"That's more like it," Damon said.

Heat rushed to Bonnie's cheeks. "Did I do that?"

"You really have no clue, do you?" Damon asked with a curious gaze.

Bonnie examined the living room, the antique furniture and Persian rugs, the artwork on the walls. The last time she'd been at the boarding house, she'd spent most of her time in Damon's bedroom. She would never have retained this much detail of the living room in her head.

"This is your dream…not mine," Bonnie said. The fact that Damon had the power to control her dreams rubbed her the wrong way.

"Impressive," he said, pulling her closer. "Most people never realize that."

"I guess I'm not most people."

"You certainly are not. It's almost impossible for a vampire to compel a witch, but your dreams are a lot less guarded." Damon lowered his face closer to hers. "Have I told you how ravishing you look in that dress?"

"What are you doing?"

"Picking up where we left off," Damon said, his lips less than an inch from hers.

Just as Damon's lips brushed hers, Bonnie jolted awake. The sheets clung to her sweaty body as she sat up.

She took quick breaths, peering into the darkness of her bedroom. She was alone. Her alarm clock read _4:26_. Bonnie groaned, plopping back down onto her pillow.

 _First, I'll set him on fire. And then I'll kill him_.

She smiled at the thought; though she was pissed that she would not be falling asleep anytime soon.

* * *

Damon sat directly above Bonnie's bedroom, on the roof of her two-story house. He stroked the head of the crow perching beside him.

Invading Bonnie's dreams had been more fun than he'd expected. He wasn't sure where his control ended and hers began – a first for him.

In the beginning, he'd been the one directing the dream, planning on seducing information on Katherine's location from her. He was especially proud of the skimpy dress, exactly like one he'd seen years ago in the window of a chic NY boutique. That small detail had been solely for his benefit.

Control had shifted, however, at some point during their dance. The "almost" kiss had been her doing, confirming what he'd suspected - she felt something for him; even though she would literally trip over herself to avoid him whenever their paths crossed. He could definitely use this to his advantage.

Setting the logs ablaze also confirmed that she was a powerful witch. The Bennett line had always been especially talented, but Bonnie surpassed all of the Bennett witches he had come in contact with since Emily.

Damon frowned remembering how he and Emily had parted over a century ago. He'd caught her in bed with another man, after she'd sworn that she never had been – and never would be – with anyone but him. Time had healed the wound of her betrayal but the memory caused an occasional ache in his heart.

"Still sulking, Damon?"

 _It can't be._

Damon turned to the woman who'd suddenly appeared beside him. The crow cawed and flew away.

He'd been human the last time he'd seen her, but her features were just as stunning as they had been in the 19th century. Her long brown hair fell in soft curls around her heart-shaped face, belying her wicked nature. She wore a black leather jacket over a dark red silk blouse and skinny jeans, which flattered her long, shapely legs.

"Long time no see, Katherine," Damon said in a steady voice, though his emotions were in overdrive. He fluctuated between shock, lust and anger in a matter of seconds.

"Miss me?" Katherine asked, hook her arm across his.

He wanted to fling her arm away and tell to her burn in Hell, but his bond to her wouldn't allow it. Distance and time had done nothing to quell his obsession with her, which he resented more than her forcing him to become a vampire. Her touch both repelled and attracted him.

"Barely thought of you," Damon lied. She had been all he'd thought of for decades – until he met Bonnie.

"She smells delicious, your witch," Katherine said. "Like apples and cinnamon. I wouldn't mind a late-night snack."

"What are you doing here, Katherine?" Damon wanted to keep her attention as far away from Bonnie as possible. He stood and glided down the rooftop, reaching the edge. He jumped the two stories, landing lightly on his booted feet.

Katherine followed, landing right beside him. "I figured it was time for a visit to Mystic Falls, considering my two favorite vampires are here. I thought you'd be a little more excited to see me."

"While I thought you were starving and desiccated in a tomb, you were gallivanting around who-knows-where, without a second thought to me or Stefan." He resented how Katherine's presence turned him into a whiny brat. "How did you even know we were here?"

"A little birdie told me."

They walked away from Bonnie's house. He wondered if that little birdie had been her, since she had claimed to know where Katherine was. But that wouldn't make sense; Bonnie had no reason to want a dangerous vampire like Katherine anywhere near her friends and family.

"I checked in on you from time to time," Katherine said. "You had much better hair in the 80s."

"This visit isn't about me or Stefan. Spill it."

"Emily's talisman. I need it."

"For what?"

"All you need to concern yourself with is how to get it. Or maybe we should try asking that Bennett witch of yours."

Damon zipped in front of her, facing her head on. "She's off limits."

Katherine squinted her eyes, her expression curious. That was never good. "Do you have feelings for her? I thought you would've learned your lesson with Emily."

"Don't mention her name," Damon said in a low voice.

"Still so sensitive." Katherine patted his cheek. "You sure know how to hold a grudge. It's not like she was completely to blame."

Damon glared at her. "Meaning what?"

"Don't tell me you still haven't figured it out."

Damon only stared in response.

"After all this time?" Katherine asked. She laughed and Damon wanted to make her stop in the worst way.

"It's actually kind of sweet, how gullible you are," Katherine said. "Emily cheated on you – after I compelled her to."

"You're lying," Damon said. "Vampires can't compel witches."

"I'm not a normal vampire." A black cat crossed Katherine's path and she hissed, scaring it away. "Don't you find it strange that there's an exact copy of me – my literal double – walking around Mystic Falls?"

Damon had always found Elena Gilbert's eerie likeness to Katherine disturbing. The fact that Stefan had fallen in love with her was even creepier. "Get to the point."

"It's not just a coincidence. I was supernatural – in more ways than one – before I became a vampire. As such, my blood has certain useful effects on witches, including the power to compel those who ingest it."

Telling a lie was as natural as taking a breath for Katherine. Damon shouldn't believe her a word she said. But his gut told him she was telling the truth – and Damon always trusted his gut. Elena's existence had to be more than a coincidence; and in his experience, something beyond coincidence usually involved the supernatural.

Emily's betrayal had also been so unexpected – so out of character – that her being compelled suddenly made a lot more sense to him than her being unfaithful. His anger at Katherine's manipulation hit him like a freight train. He wondered if he was fast enough to rip her heart from her chest.

"You knew how much I loved her," Damon said.

"She was a weakness for others to exploit," Katherine said. "I freed you of that burden."

"You really are heartless."

"You love that about me. Now, you're going to help me get that talisman, or else Bonnie is going to suddenly strike an interest in someone else. Elena's brother might do the trick."

Katherine must have been in Mystic Falls for some time, spying on him and Stefan. Damon had to stop her, but he was not strong enough to fight her on his own. She could compel Bonnie if she wanted to and he would be helpless to stop her. He needed time.

"Fine," Damon said. "I'll get the talisman for you, but I'll need a few days. But know that if you hurt Bonnie, I'll destroy it."

"You have a day. If it's not in my possession by then, your witch is mine," Katherine said, before zipping off into the darkness.

Damon was in desperate need of a plan - preferably one that resulted in Katherine's death.

* * *

The aroma of fresh-baked cookies drifted into the dining room, where Bonnie worked through the last of her Calculus homework. Math was her favorite subject and solving problems helped distract her from more troubling thoughts, like her disturbingly sexy dreams of Damon.

Bonnie flipped her notebook shut and walked into the kitchen to join Grams. She spent more time at Grams's house than at her own. Her house felt cold and empty, even on the rare occasions her father was home from one of his many business trips.

"Get 'em while they're hot," Grams said as she pulled a sheet of chocolate chip cookies from her antique oven. Bonnie loved how almost every piece of furniture or appliance that Grams owned was probably older then she was.

Grams sipped from the "World's Best Grandma" mug that Bonnie had made for her as a child. She guessed the mug held a mix of peppermint tea and whiskey, her grandmother's favorite evening beverage.

"I hate chocolate chip cookies," Bonnie said, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"Not when I make them," Grams said, bringing a plate of cookies to the table.

Bonnie snatched one, still warm from the oven, wolfing it down in a matter of seconds She figured chocolate chip might do the trick after all.

"You'll get a tummy ache," Grams said, dipping a cookie into her drink.

Bonnie grabbed another cookie. "When have I ever gotten a stomach ache?" Bonnie asked between bites.

"You only eat like this when something's bothering you. What's wrong, child?"

Bonnie leaned back in her chair, stuffing the last of the cookie into her mouth. She clutched the amber jewel that still hung from her neck, the one she never left home without. "Have you ever felt like someone was controlling your dreams?"

Grams eyed her granddaughter. "Bonnie, what have you been up to?"

"Me? I haven't done anything. It's just," Bonnie looked away, avoiding eye contact with her grandmother, "I may have met a couple of vampires."

"Who?" Grams asked, though she did not sound that surprised at the mention of vampires in Mystic Falls.

The doorbell rang to Bonnie's relief. She wasn't ready to reveal that Damon and Stefan Salvatore were vampires, or the fact that Damon had sort of tried to kill her.

"Who could that be at this time of night?" Grams asked, moving to answer the door. Bonnie followed close behind her.

Grams opened the front door. Damon stood smiling on the other side.

"Good evening, ladies," Damon said.

Bonnie's heart raced; whether from fear or excitement, she wasn't quite sure.

"Can I help you?" Grams asked in a haughty tone.

"I'm Damon. I'm here to see your granddaughter. We're good acquaintances from…high school."

"I've never heard of you. And you're too old to be a high school student."

"It's okay, Grams," Bonnie said. "You can let him in."

Grams crossed her arms, staring Damon down. "I'm not inviting a vampire into my home."

"Grams! How did you know he was a vampire?" Bonnie asked in shock.

"I may be getting older but my senses are still sharp. If you bothered practicing magic as much as you do Calculus, you would be able to sniff out vampires twice as well as me," Grams said. "What are you doing associating with one of them, anyway?"

"It's a long story," Bonnie said.

"And I'm sure she'd like to hear it someday, but I'm kind of in a bind here," Damon said, his piercing blue eyes reminding her of their intimate dream dance.

Bonnie cleared her throat. "What do you want, Damon?"

"The talisman." His eyes fell to the jewel around her neck.

"What right do you have to demand a witch's talisman?" Grams asked. Bonnie panicked at her grandmother's tone, knowing she was on the verge of losing her temper. And that only meant trouble.

"First of all, the talisman belonged to Emily Bennett. And technically, it's mine, since I gave it to her." Damon stood his ground. Bonnie was impressed. Most of her friends were terrified of Grams, especially when she'd been drinking; not that she and Damon were anywhere close to being friends.

"It found its way to Bonnie, so now it belongs to her. And she's not giving it up to a blood-sucker," Grams said.

"I wanted to keep this polite, but if you're gonna–" Damon cried out before he could finish. He grabbed his head, doubling over. "What…"

Grams glared at Damon, her eyes intense. A gentle breeze rushed over Bonnie as her grandmother used her powers to debilitate Damon.

"Grams, please!" Bonnie said, cringing at Damon's cries.

"Katherine…" he managed to squeak out.

The breeze ceased and Grams stood a little straighter. "Katherine Pierce?

"You know about Katherine, too?" Bonnie asked.

"I know a lot more than you think I do, child. What is she doing back in Mystic Falls?"

Damon stood, a little shaky on his feet. "She wants that talisman. And is willing to do whatever it takes to get it."

"Which includes hurting Bonnie?" Grams asked, more as a statement than a question.

"I won't let that happen," Damon said.

Bonnie's heart skipped a beat at his determination.

Grams smiled slightly. "So you don't plan on giving it to her, do you?"

"No, but I'm going to need it – and Bonnie – to get rid of her for good. I need Bonnie to do what Emily promised all those years ago."

"You want to lock her in the tomb? Below Fell's Church?" Bonnie asked.

"And let her starve for the next century or two," Damon said.

"No," Grams said, shaking her head. "A spell like that would require way too much power. Bonnie's not strong enough."

"With the full moon tomorrow night," Bonnie said. "I could do it…if you helped me."

"It's too dangerous," Grams said.

"If we don't handle her now, there's no telling what she might do," Damon said.

"Please, Grams," Bonnie said. "Emily said she's ruthless and willing to kill to get what she wants."

"Emily's still in contact with you?" Grams asked.

"She visits me…on occasion," Bonnie lied. Since the whole possession thing, Emily had been visiting her dreams quite often, helping Bonnie to harness her powers and gain confidence in her abilities as a witch.

Her grandmother looked anything but happy about that revelation, but she kept her thoughts to herself. She looked from Bonnie to Damon. "We'll need time to prepare."

"She gave me a day," Damon said.

"Well, you're going to have to find a way to stall," Grams said.

"I'm ready, Grams," Bonnie said. "I can do this now."

Grams crinkled her brow in doubt. "This kind of spell requires a huge amount of energy and discipline. You would have to channel energy from the moon, which is difficult even for the most experienced witches."

Bonnie looked up at the moon, shining bright behind Damon. It wasn't quite full, but would still provide enough energy to cast one of the harder spells Emily had taught her.

"Invite him in, Grams," Bonnie said. She channeled the power of the moon into her spell, her body tingling with lunar energy.

"No way," Grams said.

"Trust me," Bonnie said more forcefully than she'd meant to. The power coursing through her body was making her a little edgy. She chanted the words of the spell under her breath.

Grams sighed. "Come in," she said to Damon.

"Don't mind if I do," Damon said, moving to step over the threshold. He hit an invisible wall. He tried to enter again, to no avail.

Grams smiled at Bonnie. "A home protection spell. Impressive."

"I told you I'm ready," Bonnie said, proud to have impressed Grams with her progress. Emily was a pretty good teacher for a ghost.

"Now that we've got that settled, it's time to talk logistics. Can you let me in, already?"

"No," Grams and Bonnie said in unison. They enjoyed a laugh at Damon's expense.

He appeared to take it all in stride though, his eyes smoldering when he stared at Bonnie. She squirmed in response.

Bonnie reveled in her ability to exercise some type of control over Damon, who she suspected had been rudely invading her dreams. She could get used to being the one in control.

* * *

Damon and Stefan waited for Katherine's arrival. After informing Stefan that Katherine was in town, his brother was all for the plan of locking her up for good, though he preferred to kill her.

Stefan had been especially pissed that she had forced him to become a vampire by compelling him to drink her blood. He had been waiting over a century to exact his revenge.

Damon had invited Katherine to the boarding house, claiming to have obtained possession of the talisman. The plan was to get Katherine to drop her guard and then pump her full of vervain. Stefan had a syringe of the substance stuffed in his back pocket.

Stefan poured drinks for the both of them and joined Damon on the couch. "How did you convince Bonnie's grandmother to help? She hates vampires."

Damon smiled. "Bonnie brought her around."

"When did you two become so chummy?" Stefan asked, taking a sip of vodka.

"What's it to you?" Damon asked. The hairs on his neck rose as he went into defense mode. Stefan had a habit of sticking his nose where it didn't belong, especially when it came to the women in Damon's life.

"Bonnie's a nice girl – way too nice for you."

"There's nothing going on between us. Why would I be interested in a timid, teenage witch?"

Stefan laughed. "If there's nothing going on with you two, why are you being so defensive?"

Stefan had a knack for pushing Damon's buttons. "Look –"

"Are you boys fighting over me?" Katherine asked from behind them.

Damon and Stefan rose from the couch to face her. Damon finished off his drink, placing it on the end table. "Not a chance in Hell," he said.

"There's enough of me to go around," she said, sauntering around the couch. She wore skintight leather pants and black stilettos. She stopped in front of Stefan, placing a hand on his chest. "You're as gorgeous as ever, Stefan."

Stefan removed her hand. "And you're just as insufferable."

Damon chimed in. "Play nice children. Let's cut to the chase, already." He pulled the talisman from his pocket. It had taken some convincing, but Bonnie had agreed to give it to him, to help the plan run as smoothly as possible. Giving Katherine what she wanted would aid in getting her to drop her guard.

"Well done, Damon," Katherine said, turning away from Stefan. She reached for the necklace and Damon snatched it out of reach.

"Ah, ah, ah," Damon said. "If I give this to you, you have to promise to leave Mystic Falls for good."

Katherine crossed her arms. "You're boring me, Damon. And when I get bored, I get angry. You're in absolutely no position to negotiate."

"I beg to differ," Damon said, smirking. He reached out to caress her cheek.

Katherine gasped as Stefan plunged the syringe into her neck, emptying the vervain into her bloodstream. She dropped to the floor, unconscious.

"Nice one, brother," Damon said.

"I'll grab the rope," Stefan said, heading to the kitchen.

Damon pulled his smartphone out of his pocket, turning his back on Katherine's unconscious form. He hit Bonnie's contact and waited for her to pick up.

"Is it done?" Bonnie asked from the other side of the line.

"She's sleeping like a baby," Damon said.

"We'll meet you at Fell's Church then," Bonnie said.

"See you in ten," Damon said, ending the call.

He turned to find Katherine standing in front of him. And she looked pissed. "Not if I have anything to do with it."

 _Bonnie,_ Damon thought before Katherine snapped his neck.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Bonnie's quickly gaining confidence in her skills as a witch and Damon is already falling head over heels for her, though he'd be the last to admit it. I plan on updating this every two weeks (more often if possible). Looking forward to your reviews and thanks for the faves and follows!**


	3. Chapter 3

Damon woke from death with a sharp pain in his neck. His right cheek ached from where he'd made contact with the floor, having passed out with nothing to break his fall.

He groaned. "I'm going to rip her heart out," he mumbled, pushing himself up from the floor.

Katherine had obviously developed an immunity to vervain. The amount Stefan had given her should have knocked her out for a few hours. He'd heard of vampires ingesting small amounts or vervain over time, to build a resistance to it, but he'd never suspected Katherine to be one of them.

He winced at the throbbing in his head, breathing his way through the pain. A broken neck usually resulted in a vicious migraine, which sometimes took hours to fade away. The last thing he needed was a distraction. He had to get to Bonnie before Katherine did. His sire wouldn't hesitate to kill Bonnie, especially since he cared about her. Katherine hated competition.

Damon reached for his smartphone, but his pocket was empty. It was gone – along with the talisman. His heartbeat pulsed in his throat as panic seized him. Bonnie was in danger and he had no means of warning her.

"Stefan!" Damon called out as he moved from the living room toward the foyer. The front door was wide open and just beyond it lay Stefan and Elena, both unconscious.

Damon ran to them, though he lacked the strength to use his vampire speed. He bent over Stefan, his neck twisted at an awkward angle. Katherine had snapped his neck as well. Only time would heal him at this point.

He checked on Elena. Blood dripped from two puncture wounds in her neck. The color was slowly draining from her complexion and Damon knew she would be dead in a matter of minutes, if not seconds.

Damon's first instinct was to leave her. But then he looked at Stefan. His brother would never forgive him if Damon let the love of his life die. Not to mention Bonnie, who would probably call him as monster for abandoning her best friend. He could imagine the judgment in those big hazel eyes.

Damon used his fangs to rip open his wrist, blood flowing freely from the wound. He placed his wrist between Elena's lips. There was a beat before Elena responded, sucking his blood, yet still not fully conscious. He let her drink for about 30 seconds, before pulling away. The wound healed almost instantly.

Elena would have to recover on her own. Damon had to get to Bonnie.

Katherine had a head start, but he hoped she'd gone on foot to Fell's Church, her preferred method of travel. That route provided more opportunities for her to get lost if she was less familiar with the woods. If he drove, he just might be able to beat her.

Damon grabbed his car keys and leather jacket on the way out the door. He slipped into the front seat of his Camaro and turned the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life.

Damon slammed his foot against the gas pedal, speeding off into the night, hoping against hope that Bonnie was still alive.

* * *

Bonnie checked her watch for the fifth time. Damon was eight minutes late.

She didn't know much about Damon, but she knew he was as much a stickler for punctuality as she was.

 _About the only thing we have in common_ , she thought. _Where is he?_

"Checking the time isn't gonna make him show up any faster," Grams said. She sat cross-legged, rustling through the pages of her grimoire. "You should be taking this time to study the spell. It's harder than you think."

They were in one of the tunnels below Fell's Church. They planned to trap Katherine in an enclave off the tunnel. Torches placed in a circle around them lit the dark space.

Bonnie had a feeling that something was wrong. A small part of her even worried about Damon and his well-being. She blamed it on all the dreams she'd been having about him lately. "What if something's happened to Damon? I mean, he has the talisman and we need it to cast the spell."

"If something's wrong, we'll handle it. If we work together, we won't need the talisman. We're Bennett witches, Bonnie. We know how to improvise," Grams said.

"But…" Bonnie trailed off. Elena stood at the far end of the tunnel.

"Elena?" Bonnie asked, shocked. "How'd you get down here? Is Damon with you?"

Elena laughed – a low-pitched laugh that was so unlike her. Bonnie noticed small differences in her dress and hairstyle, not quite processing what it meant.

"How sweet," Elena said, stepping toward Bonnie. "You mistook me for a teenager. I'm flattered."

"Katherine," Grams said. The fear in her grandmother's voice worried Bonnie. Grams was never afraid.

"Sheila Bennett," Katherine said. "Time has taken its toll on you, I see. One of the many disadvantages of being a witch."

"Don't even think about laying a hand on my granddaughter."

"A hand? No. My teeth? Yes."

Katherine moved so quick, Bonnie barely caught the motion. Katherine suddenly materialized, kneeling in front of her. The vampire cradled her head, crying out in pain.

"Stop…" was all Katherine could manage.

Grams held her hand out in front of her, as though she were squeezing a melon in her palm. "Bonnie, start the spell," Grams said, still focusing all of her energy on Katherine.

Bonnie was too afraid to move, not wanting to turn her back on the vampire that wanted to kill her.

"Now!" Grams yelled.

"You can do this," Bonnie mumbled under her breath. She ran to grab Grams's grimoire. Taking a deep breath, she began to read and chant the words of the captivity spell.

Energy slowly drained from Bonnie as she continued to chant. The stronger the spell grew, the weaker she became. She harnessed the force of the full moon, but it was not enough. Being underground made it difficult to tap into the moon up above. Grams could have managed, but Bonnie was not skilled enough.

"Channel me," Grams said, still holding off Katherine.

"But I don't know how," Bonnie said.

"Focus!" Grams said, her voice strained. "Just focus on me, child."

Bonnie resumed chanting and reached a hand out toward Grams, though she was too far away to touch her. At first she felt nothing. And then – a little spark of energy at her fingertips. The sensation crept up her arm and across her chest, making her body tingle. Bonnie closed her eyes, reveling in the power. It was the best thing she'd ever felt in her life.

"Bonnie…" Grams croaked.

Bonnie's eyes shot open. Grams clenched her jaw and sweat dripped down her face.

"Grams!" Bonnie shouted in surprise, breaking their connection.

Katherine's cries of pain stopped. As quick as lightning, Katherine zipped behind Grams, wrapping one arm around her waist and the other around Grams's head, exposing her neck.

"Please," Bonnie said, unable to mask the desperation in her voice. "Let her go. I promise we'll leave and never look back. Please, don't hurt her."

"It's too late for that. You should have steered clear of Damon," Katherine said, before sinking her teeth into Grams's neck.

Grams cried out and Bonnie stood frozen in shock, as Katherine drained the life out of her grandmother.

Bonnie tried to think of a spell to use against the vampire, but her mind went completely blank. Grams was all she had, she couldn't lose her.

"Katherine, stop!" Damon yelled, his booming voice echoing throughout the tunnel.

Katherine released Grams, who slumped to the floor, her eyes closed and her mouth slightly ajar.

"Bonnie, are you okay?" Damon asked from her side now.

Bonnie shuddered with hurt and rage at the sight of Grams unconscious – maybe dead.

 _Let me_ , Emily's voice said from the back of her mind. _I'll make her pay_.

Bonnie nodded without hesitation.

"Bonnie," Damon said from somewhere far, far away.

And then Emily took the reins with a vengeance.

* * *

Damon was too late. Bonnie's grandmother lay sprawled on the floor, the beating of her heart weak. And Bonnie stood calm and collected - the complete opposite of what he'd expected. She should have been trying to help her Grams.

Damon took Bonnie by the shoulders, turning her to face him. "Bonnie," he said in a low voice.

"Bonnie is taking a break."

 _Emily_ , Damon thought. _This isn't going to end well_.

He released her. "Emily, you need to bring Bonnie back. Her grandmother is dying."

"Not before I take care of this monster, once and for all." She faced Katherine.

Katherine smirked. "Emily Bennett? Now things are getting interesting." She wiped away the blood dripping from her mouth. "You look…different."

Damon left the two of them to check on Grams. She was starting to regain consciousness. "Hold on," he said, ripping a fresh wound in his wrist. He moved to press the wound against her lips.

"No," Grams said quietly.

"You're going to die if you don't let me help you."

"No," she said again. "Witches don't cheat death."

Damon considered forcing her to drink his blood, but he respected her values. A person had the right to choose to die.

"Bonnie," Grams said, before losing consciousness again. Fortunately, she was still alive, but not for much longer.

Emily shot her arm out, her palm facing Katherine. An invisible force pinned the vampire against the wall, about a few feet above the ground.

Katherine grunted. "That was fun. Is that all you got, witch?"

Emily chanted a few words and the contents of Katherine's front pocket floated in the air. Emily pulled the amber talisman and Damon's phone in her direction. She grabbed the talisman with one hand, while using the other to keep Katherine trapped against the wall. Damon's phone dropped to the ground.

The witch slipped the talisman around her neck. The amber glow of the jewel sparkled against her face, giving her an ethereal, otherworldly radiance.

"That's a handy trick," Damon said, picking up the phone and rubbing it clean on his jeans.

"Looks like you're a lot tougher than I thought you were. You're a hard witch to kill," Katherine said. "I thought the Founders' Council burned you alive decades ago."

"They did," Emily said. "My body died, but my spirit survived on the Other Side."

Katherine scoffed. "The Other Side? Sounds like something a child would make up."

"Don't worry, it's not where you're going when you die."

"Wait, Emily," Damon said, not believing what he was about to say next. "Don't kill her."

"After all this time, she's still got you wrapped around her little finger," Emily said.

"This isn't what Bonnie would want," he said.

"How do you know what Bonnie wants?"

"I've spent enough time with her to realize she's a good person. Better than any of us. She may be upset about her grandmother right now, but she's not a killer."

"Neither am I, but someone has to put an end to Katherine. If anyone deserves to die, it is her."

"But not by Bonnie's hand."

Emily appeared to be considering his words.

"Please kill me," Katherine said, gagging. "I'd rather be dead than hear you two babble on about morals. You're pathetic."

"I'm attempting to save your life and all you can do is call me names?" Damon was beyond irritated.

"I should have given your name to the Founders' Council, along with Emily's, and been rid of you a long time ago. Stefan was the only one that ever mattered, the only one I ever loved."

"You what?" Damon asked. "You turned Emily over to the Council?"

He'd always wondered how the Council found out about Emily. No one beyond her family had known she was a witch, except for him. And Katherine.

Damon had been there with Emily when she died. He managed to get her family to safety before the Council sought them out as well. He had not forgiven her, but he had loved her too much to let her die alone. And so he stood there and watched her cry in agony as the fire charred her skin and fed on her limbs. It was one of the hardest days of his life, and he'd had a lot since then.

Emily curled her hand into a fist and there was a loud crunch. Katherine screeched in pain and blood shot from her mouth.

Damon's hatred ended his protests. Katherine deserved to die, in the most painful way imaginable. He would do it himself if he could, but Emily needed this more than he did. Hopefully, Bonnie wouldn't get all judgy on him. _She would eventually agree that it was their only option_ , he thought.

Emily waved her hand up and down, chanting under her breath. The amber jewel around her neck glowed as bright as fire.

Katherine's right leg burst into flames. Her high-pitched screams reverberated against the walls. Damon wished for once that he could shut off his sensitive vampire hearing.

"If you kill me," Katherine said through clenched teeth, "Elena dies."

The fire rising up Katherine's thigh suddenly extinguished.

"Bonnie," Emily said. "What are you doing?"

Damon was impressed by Bonnie's ability to halt Emily's spell, even though the more powerful witch still possessed control of Bonnie's body.

"We're linked. If you kill me, you kill Elena," Katherine said, panting.

Damon panicked. If Elena died with his blood in her system, she would become a vampire. A vampire sired to him.

He had created only one other vampire in his lifetime, and that had been problematic and irritating beyond compare. And when Stefan realized what he'd done…Elena bleeding to death in the foyer would almost have been the better option.

Katherine screamed again, her entire body erupting in flames now. Emily had regained control and she was on a mission. Bonnie wasn't strong enough to stop her.

Damon could only look on as Katherine burned to death, hoping Stefan wouldn't kill him for turning the human love of his life into a vampire.

* * *

The pungent odor of burnt flesh filled Bonnie's nostrils. Emily had faded away when all that remained of Katherine was black ash.

Bonnie sat, hunched over. Her entire body ached, like she'd been running a marathon. She hoped Katherine had been lying about Elena, that her best friend's life wasn't linked to the vampire's.

Bonnie crawled over to Grams, who was conscious now. Damon was already there, holding her head gently in his hands.

"Grams," Bonnie said with a raspy voice. She took hold of her grandmother's hand. "You're going to be okay. Just tell me what spell I need to do."

"It's too late," Grams said quietly.

Bonnie sobbed, resting her head against Grams's chest.

"Just promise me…you won't bring me back," Grams said.

Bonnie could only weep in response. She was very much aware of Damon's presence, of him watching her be vulnerable and pitiful and afraid, but she didn't care. She just wanted to save her Grams.

"Promise me," Grams said again.

"I promise," Bonnie said to appease her dying grandmother. If there was a way to bring her back, Bonnie would go against her wishes to find it.

"Stay strong…" Grams's heartbeat ceased with those last words.

Bonnie's wails filled the emptiness of the tunnel. She felt hands on her shoulders as she was pulled away from Grams.

"Come here," Damon said, wrapping her in his arms.

He smelled of lavender and sandalwood, just like in her dreams. Yet, it did little to comfort her.

"Let's get out of here," he said.

The drive home was all a haze. Damon had loaded her and then Grams into his car. Bonnie vaguely remembered him holding her hand, as he sped down the empty highway. Before she knew it, they were in front of Grams's house.

Bonnie lacked the energy to walk. Damon opened the car door for her, sweeping her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He carried her up the stone walkway and then used her keys to open the front door, walking across the threshold.

"But you haven't been invited in," Bonnie said in a whisper, vaguely aware of the meaning of the words coming out of her mouth.

"Shhh," Damon said gently.

He placed her in bed, changing her out of her dirty clothes and into flannel pajamas; the ones with carrots and pink bunnies that Grams had gotten her for Christmas.

Another crying spell hit Bonnie and Damon slipped into bed beside her, sitting against the headboard. She rested her head against his firm chest, feeling safe in his arms. He stroked her hair, the repetitive motion relaxing Bonnie's nerves as she cried some more.

He hummed a soothing melody, one she wasn't familiar with.

"What about Grams?" Bonnie asked, lifting her head in a sudden panic.

Damon gently pushed her head back down to rest against his chest. "I'll take care of her. Just get some rest."

At some point that night, Bonnie had started to trust Damon. She believed that he would take care of Grams. And she believed he would take care of her. In this moment, she felt safer with him than she had with her own parents.

Bonnie snuggled into his embrace, eventually drifting off, into a restless sleep.

* * *

Damon scooted out of bed, careful not to wake Bonnie. He maneuvered her head to rest on her pillow. He swept a few stray hairs back from her forehead.

"Sweet dreams, Bon-Bon," he whispered. Bonnie snored quietly in response.

Damon felt a twinge in his gut. He had come so close to losing her tonight. If Emily hadn't taken care of Katherine, he was sure she would have killed Bonnie – and he would have been helpless to stop her.

He was grateful Bonnie had let him comfort her. Being with her felt right, despite the fact that she was a witch and he was a vampire. They should have been at each other's throats. Instead, he wanted nothing more than to climb back into bed with her.

Bonnie whimpered in her sleep. Sweat formed on her crinkled brow.

Damon sat beside her, placing his hand over hers. He thought of Bonnie and her Grams, in a field of white tulips, the sun shining bright in the blue sky. Bonnie cast a spell to turn the tulips red and then purple and then blue. She and Grams laughed as tulip petals of various colors suddenly swirled around them.

Damon sat up and watched as Bonnie's face relaxed, a hint of a smile on her lips. He was glad to ease some of her pain, even if it was only with a dream.

He left Bonnie to rest, closing the door gently behind him. Damon slipped out his smartphone. His next priority was to take care of Sheila Bennett. The puncture wounds in her neck would be a red flag to any coroner, so he pressed the green button to call the only human he could trust with these matters.

"Sheriff Forbes," a woman said groggily from the other side of the line.

"Sorry to wake you, Sheriff. But we've got a problem."

Damon explained that Sheila Bennett had died at the hands of a vampire, one that he had subsequently taken care of. The sheriff agreed to take care of the body quietly. She did not want anyone else in the town knowing about the presence of vampires in Mystic Falls, unless absolutely necessary. Damon thanked her for her help and ended the call.

On the drive home, he thought mostly of Bonnie. Her only living relative in Mystic Falls now – her father – was never around. She was essentially alone in the world. And it was his fault. He should have never involved Bonnie and her grandmother in any of this. He should have found a way to take care of Katherine on his own.

He wanted to invite Bonnie to stay with him at the boarding house, but was unsure if she would accept. Plus, he had to deal with his brother first.

Damon pulled into the garage and shut off his car. He could hear the muffled voices of Stefan and Elena from inside the house. It sounded like they were arguing. Damon took a deep breath and made his way inside.

He walked through the kitchen, where he found several empty blood bags strewn on the counter. Elena was hungry.

Just as Damon crossed the threshold into the living room, a fist swiftly connected with his face, knocking him to the ground. Damon landed hard on his back.

"Hello to you too, brother," Damon said as he sat up, rubbing his cracked jaw.

"I should kill you," Stefan said, hovering over him.

"Look, this isn't my fault. Elena would have died without my blood. How was I to know that Katherine had linked herself to her?" Damon stood slowly.

"Katherine did what?" Elena asked. Dried blood pooled at the corners of her mouth, her eyes wide and more frantic than usual.

"Somehow she linked her life to yours. She'd told me she was supernatural and that her blood was special, so she must have somehow used it to form a link between the two of you."

"And you knew this before you killed her?" Stefan asked.

Stefan was pissed and he was not about to let him know that Bonnie had technically killed her, although she had not been in control of her body at the time.

"There was no way around it," Damon said.

Stefan grabbed a chair and slammed it against the wall. With the jagged edge of one of the broken legs, he stabbed Damon in the gut. Damon grunted at the shooting pain in his abdomen.

Elena looked at him with empathy, as though she were feeling his pain. "Stefan, stop. It's not his fault."

"It's completely his fault, Elena. You're a vampire because of Damon."

"I'm alive because of him," Elena said sternly. She walked over to Damon and yanked the leg out.

Damon yelled in pain. Stefan looked even more pissed.

"Sorry," she said, dropping the broken leg to the floor. "And thank you, for saving my life." She looked at Damon as though he were her hero. And it annoyed him.

"Don't mention it," he said, heading toward his room.

"I'll never forgive you for this," Stefan said from behind him.

It would take some time, but Stefan would eventually realize he'd done the right thing.

Damon would sleep well tonight knowing that Bonnie was alive. He cared about her safety even more than his own. As to his feelings for her, he was still trying to figure that part out.

* * *

 **A/N: The third chapter, finally! Thanks for all the feedback, they gave me some great ideas on where to take future chapters. Grams is a wonderful character on the show and she will definitely play a pivotal role in the chapters to come. Damon and Bonnie are both starting to care for each other and their feelings are only going to grow stronger. Thanks for the positive reviews, follows and faves! Happy Friday!**


	4. Chapter 4

"I know you're in there, Bon-Bon," Damon called from Grams's front porch. He banged on the door again. It shook under the force but remained closed. "I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your door down."

The home had apparently been willed to someone who would need to invite him in. He guessed that someone was Bonnie, who'd been hiding out in the dark house for the past week.

A cat meowed from the other side of the door and then scratched its nails across the wood. "It's not very nice of you to hold a cat hostage," he said loudly.

Heavy footsteps approached. Bonnie whipped open the door and a fat tabby darted down the front steps. She squinted her eyes at the sunlight, which only enhanced her glare. "Leave me alone, Damon," Bonnie said in a raspy, tired voice.

Bonnie looked like she hadn't seen a mirror for days. Wisps of Bonnie's delicate hair pointed every which way and she wore a plush, pink terrycloth robe over her flannel pajamas; the same pajamas he'd dressed her in the night he brought her home.

"Can-not do," he said, smiling. "We need to talk about your brunette bestie."

"What's wrong? Did something happen to Elena?" Bonnie asked, worry taking the place of her annoyance.

"Afraid I can't tell you until you invite me in." He leaned in until his forehead touched the invisible barrier blocking his entry. He sometimes wondered if this whole invitation thing wasn't just a psychological hurdle that you could eventually learn to overcome with practice. Either way, he wasn't going anywhere until Bonnie spoke the words he needed her to.

Bonnie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. Come in." She turned and walked away from him. Damon followed.

The house that had been so full of warmth and the aroma of freshly baked cookies, was cold and dark. The blinds were pulled and only bits of light managed to squeeze through the windows.

Bonnie plopped down onto the oversized couch in the living room. She crossed her arms. "Tell me and then go."

Damon sat in a flower-patterned armchair across from her. As a vampire, his own emotions were heightened. Feelings like jealousy and grief blinded him more than the average human. But with these heightened senses came an ability to read the emotions of others quite well. And right now he could sense waves of grief crashing against the walls Bonnie was doing her best to erect.

He sat quietly, not taking his eyes off of her. He wanted to quell her grief, even if he had to distract her with other emotions. Bonnie squirmed at his stare.

 _She's stubborn_ , he thought, _but nowhere near as stubborn as me_.

"If you're tired, I'd be more than happy to tuck you in." He leaned forward, smiling flirtatiously. He heard Bonnie's heart skip a beat.

Bonnie pursed her lips. "Just get to the point Damon. What's happened to Elena? Oh, besides the fact that you turned her into a vampire."

Damon had planned to tell Bonnie about Elena after she'd had a chance to recover somewhat from her grandmother's death, but Elena had beaten him to it. He didn't know if she was more pissed about the fact that he'd turned her best friend into a blood-lusting predator or that he hadn't told her right away.

"College," Damon said.

"What?" Bonnie asked, sneering.

"College. Elena has plans to visit Whitmore College and I'm being forced to take her."

"Prospective students' day. I completely forgot."

"Understandable with all that's been going on." He prodded Bonnie with his eyes, wanting her to speak, to share something with him. But he failed to penetrate her brick wall. "Stefan is off on some impossible mission to find a cure for vampirism, so I'm stuck babysitting a newbie with fangs."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"I need you to accompany us. There is no way I can spend an hour in the car with Elena without wanting to rip her fangs out. No offense."

Bonnie offered an icy glare in response.

"Come on, Bon-Bon. Who knows? You might actually enjoy yourself. We'll make fun of desperate college kids and heckle crappy professors."

A light sparked behind Bonnie's hazel eyes. "I do want to meet the professor who took over Grams's Occult Studies classes."

"It's settled then." He grabbed her off of the couch. "Anything to get you out of that frumpy robe."

Bonnie stuck her tongue out at him before heading to her bedroom.

Damon smiled as he watched her go. He would much rather deal with her bad attitude than have to worry about her alone and grieving in this depressing house. He planned on reigniting that spark in her, by any extreme means necessary. And Damon was a big fan of the extreme.

* * *

Bonnie wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed and hide from the world. Instead, she was stuck in the backseat of Damon's Camaro, listening to him give feeding tips to Elena. The drive to Whitmore College was taking longer than she remembered. Apparently, Damon drove slower than her grandmother.

"Snatch. Eat. Erase," Damon said. "That's all you need to know. Of the three, eating requires the most control. Luckily, a busy, college campus should provide ample opportunities for practice."

"Snatch. Eat. Erase," Elena said thoughtfully. "And the erase bit. How much should I compel them to forget? Just the feeding or the entire night?"

Damon sighed. "Improvise, Elena. Have them forget as much or as little as you like. I really don't care. Just make sure it is enough."

Elena nodded, unbothered by his brusqueness. Bonnie rolled her eyes. Vampire problems were the least of her worries.

"Are we there yet?" Bonnie asked from the backseat. She had been more than happy to let Elena ride shotgun. She was in no mood for small talk with Damon, who would try to cheer her up, when all she wanted was to wallow in her dark mood.

"You tell me," he said.

Bonnie scanned their surroundings. They passed a large blue sign with "Whitmore College" painted in white letters.

Elena noticed the sign as well. "Finally," she said. "I'm starving."

Damon smirked. "Hold on, baby vamp. No munching until I say so. I don't need to have Stefan on my back because you killed a sorority girl."

Damon's words were meant for Elena, but his eyes captured Bonnie's in the rearview mirror. Bonnie averted her gaze, focusing on the scenery passing by. She didn't want to worry about him worrying about her. Damon had aided her in a time of need, but Bonnie wanted to avoid as much involvement with him as possible. She held him partly responsible for Grams's death, since he was the one who introduced Katherine into their lives in the first place.

"If Stefan were actually here, then he could complain. But he chose to abandon me to the wolves. No offense," Elena said, glancing at Damon.

"None taken," he said nonchalantly.

"I'm sure Stefan would be here if he could," Bonnie said, only partly tuned into their conversation. She spoke the words more out of comfort than sincerity. From what she'd heard from Damon, things had changed between Elena and Stefan now that she was no longer human.

Having met Katherine, who embodied everything despicable about vampires and who was essentially a carbon copy of Elena, Bonnie wasn't all that surprised by Stefan's reaction. Even she wondered if the best friend she'd played hopscotch and obsessed over boys with was gone forever. Human Elena would have been trying her best to cheer Bonnie up. Vampire Elena was only concerned with her next meal.

Damon pulled into a spot in the visitor's lot. They exited the car.

Bonnie's dreams of being a freshman at Whitmore College were now only distant memories. Where there should have been excitement, she only felt indifference.

"Okay, girls," Damon said. "Stay close to your chaperone."

Bonnie walked off. She planned on finding the new Occult Studies professor and information on finding other Bennett witches who could help her bring Grams back from the dead. The last thing she needed were Damon and Elena tagging along.

"College," Damon said wistfully as they walked through the large lawn known as the Quad.

"You went to college?" Bonnie asked, skeptical.

"I had a thing for sorority girls," Damon said with a half-smile.

 _Typical Damon_ , Bonnie thought. And yet, she would probably never have the chance to truly enjoy college the way he had. The normalcy and easiness of that life was not in the cards for her. She had seen enough in the last few months to change her perspective on life completely. Any prospects of living the life of a naïve college student had disappeared when Katherine killed Grams. Her only plan now was to become a powerful witch, capable of resurrecting the dead.

Bonnie spotted the building where Occult Studies was located. "I'll meet up with you guys later," Bonnie said, running off and hoping they would take the hint not to follow her.

She found her way easily, having visited Grams a dozen times during her six-year tenure as a professor. Bonnie stopped in front of the solid oak door. A sign read "Prof. Atticus Shane," her grandmother's name having been completely erased, as though it had never existed. Bonnie knocked, hoping in vain that Grams would answer from the other side.

"Come in," a male voice called from inside. Bonnie slowly opened the door, exhaling her disappointment.

A man in his mid-30s with neat curly hair sat at Grams's desk, his fingers dancing across the keyboard of his laptop, his concentration focused on the screen in front of him.

He glanced up at Bonnie, his green eyes large and hypnotic. "Hi," he said with an inviting smile. He returned his gaze to his laptop, continuing to type with lightning speed. "My office hours are almost over but I can spare a minute or two if you need help with something."

"Hi," Bonnie said, her voice suddenly sounding feeble. The chance that this man could help her was a long shot. "I'm not a student here. My grandmother, Sheila Bennett, used to teach Occult Studies."

Professor Shane stopped typing and focused his complete attention on her. "Are you Bonnie?" he asked.

Bonnie nodded slowly, surprised he had known Grams well enough to be familiar with her granddaughter name. Grams never mentioned him. "Did you know Grams…I mean, Sheila?"

He rose and walked to the front of his desk to meet her. He extended his hand and Bonnie shook it, his hand soft yet his handshake firm. "There aren't many professors in our field, so we kind of make a point to seek each other out. I was terribly sorry to hear about your grandmother's death. She was an amazing woman."

"Thank you," Bonnie said for a lack of words.

"It must be weird to find me in her office like this."

"No, it's fine," she said, though she did find the whole experience disconcerting. It was just another reminder that Grams was really gone.

"Actually," he said, retrieving a small box just to his left. "I packed up her things. There wasn't much, but I figured someone might come for them eventually."

"Thanks." Bonnie accepted the box, noticing a family photo on top. It was taken when Bonnie was just a baby. It was a rare photo of her entire family – Grams, Papa, Dad and her mother. Bonnie hadn't seen her mother since she was six years old and hardly remembered her. Bonnie teared up, thinking about all the family she had lost.

"I'm sorry," Professor Shane said gently. "I didn't mean to upset you."

Bonnie placed the box on the ground, wiping away the oncoming tears. "No, no, it wasn't you. Thank you for packing up her things. I appreciate it."

Professor Shane glanced at the clock above the door. "I really wish we had more time to talk, but I have to get to my next class."

Bonnie panicked, worried that she might lose her chance to find the information she needed if she let him go. "I just need your help with something."

"Sure," he said, packing his laptop and a stack of papers into his leather satchel.

"Grams had…contacts – people who practiced magic." She chose her words carefully, not sure if the professor was one of those people well-versed in the origins of magic but with no clue that it actually existed in the modern world.

"You mean witches," he said without flinching.

"Yes…" was all Bonnie could manage, relief washing over her.

He snatched a colorful flyer off his desk and handed it to her. It read "Murder Frat House" in letters fashioned to look like dripping blood. "I'm teaching for the rest of the afternoon, but will be attending this party later."

Bonnie examined the flyer, crinkling her brow. She wondered why a professor would be attending a frat party.

"Please don't think poorly of me. I agreed to attend as a way to get one of my students to finish her paper. It's a long story."

He made his way for the door and then stopped. "Just be sure to bring an adult with you. Wouldn't want any frat guys hassling you." He smiled before jetting out the door.

Bonnie doubted convincing Damon to escort her to a frat party would be an issue. Her only concern was Elena and her ability to control herself around so much…food. The thought of her best friend feeding on people still turned her stomach.

But for once in her life, Bonnie planned on putting her own needs first.

* * *

Damon showed up to the frat party dressed as Jack the Ripper, with a hot girl on each arm. Multi-colored laser lights lit the dark house, which smelled like beer with a hint of disinfectant.

He'd surprised Bonnie when he initially refused to escort her, not trusting the guy who'd invited a high school student to a frat party. But when he realized Bonnie was set on going, he agreed. There was no way he would leave her in the hands of some academic pervert.

Bonnie stood at his side, scanning the room. She wore a purple corset and long black skirt. Her black lipstick and smoky eye shadow complimented her look. Elena was dressed in a similar fashion, with a blood red corset. Slit marks across their necks completed their look as victims of Jack the Ripper; it was the best they all could do for costumes on such short notice.

"This place is packed," Elena said, her eyes wide.

Damon would have to keep an eye on Elena. Though their earlier lesson had gone well – she'd fed on a loner in the library – he wasn't convinced she could exercise control around a crowd of this size.

"Stay close," he said, directing his words to both Elena and Bonnie.

Bonnie waved to someone and Damon followed her gaze. On the stairs stood a guy in his mid-30s, with curly hair that gave him more of a youthful appearance. He appeared to have been in conversation with a girl dressed like Drew Barrymore from the movie _Scream_ , with way more skin showing.

 _Definitely a creep_ , Damon thought.

Bonnie moved to leave and Damon grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Where are you going?" he asked, his voice rougher than he'd intended.

Bonnie glared at him. "Where does it look like I'm going? To speak with Professor Shane."

"I don't trust Professor Creepy. He's got dodgy eyes."

"I think he's hot," Elena said nonchalantly.

Bonnie giggled - the first sign of emotion since they'd departed Mystic Falls. "I guess so." She cocked her head to the side.

Damon would have added more, but then he noticed Elena was missing. He looked around, the brief distraction giving Bonnie the opportunity to slip from his grip and disappear into the crowd.

He knew where Bonnie was headed, so he let her go. He would check on her later.

Damon moved through the house in search of Elena. A few girls asked him to dance, but he ignored them. He needed to make sure Elena didn't drain someone dry.

He found her chatting with a broad-shouldered guy, a hockey mask resting on the top of his head. He had his hand pressed against the wall behind Elena, leaning in to kiss her.

"Get lost," Damon said as he approached.

The guy turned around to protest, making eye contact with Damon.

"Now," Damon ordered. The guy walked away without another word, his compulsion doing the trick.

"What'd you do that for?" Elena whined like a petulant child. "He was mine."

"You're only allowed to feed with my permission. Or did I not make that clear when you almost killed the chick in the library?"

"I wish Stefan was here." Elena crossed her arms and looked away.

"You're not the only one. But unfortunately, the only thing my brother could teach you is how to rip someone's head off while feeding."

"But I'm still hungry. At least let me feed on someone else."

Exasperated, Damon sought Bonnie out. She sat on a couch chatting with the professor. He planned to eavesdrop on their conversation, but first he had to get Elena out of his hair so he could concentrate.

A muscular guy nearby dropped a pill into a girl's drink while she was turned away.

"That guy," Damon said, pointing in his direction. "Knock yourself out. Just please don't kill him, OK?"

"Yum," Elena said.

"And stay close to me."

He watched her wave a hand in acknowledgment while heading for the prey.

Damon focused all of his attention on Bonnie now, drowning out the background noise to hone in on her conversation.

"My wife was a witch," the professor said.

"Really?" Bonnie asked, her expression full of surprise. Her face changed, as though she'd suddenly realized something. "Was?"

"I lost her over a year ago."

"I'm so sorry to hear that."

"Thank you." He paused. "You actually remind me of her."

Bonnie looked away coyly, curling a lock of hair behind her ear. Damon growled.

"Our son died in a car accident and my wife attempted to use magic to bring him back; a type of magic that allows witches to connect with the spirit world. It's called Expression."

Hairs bristled on the back of Damon's neck. He didn't know much about the dark magic, but he knew it was dangerous. Witches who practiced it usually ended up insane – or dead.

"I've never heard of it before," Bonnie said, taking the bait.

"My wife died trying to wield it. But I've been told by a trusted source that it can work, if the witch is strong enough. I've heard of a Bennett witch who used it successfully to bring a loved one back from the Other Side."

"You know about the Other Side too?" Bonnie asked excitedly.

 _That's it_ , Damon thought. He's filling her head with false hope and nonsense. He moved in their direction, determined to break at least the professor's nose, but he suddenly tuned in to something else. The heartbeat of Elena's meal was beating precariously slow. Damon looked to find Elena holding a limp body in her arms.

Damon hesitated. If Elena killed this guy, Stefan would take even longer to forgive him for turning his girlfriend into a vampire. His brother feared Elena would tailspin into a downward spiral of guilt and switch off her humanity if she killed someone. And Bonnie would likely blame Damon as well.

 _Humanity is so problematic_ , he thought before making his way to Elena.

"Enough," Damon said to Elena, his voice low and menacing.

Elena stilled. She ripped her fangs from the guy's neck. "Party pooper."

Damon snatched the unconscious guy from her arms. Ripping open his own wrist with his fangs, he fed his blood to the guy, which immediately revived him. Damon stood him up straight, capturing his eyes. "Forget about this. And tomorrow, visit the Dean's office and provide a list of all the women you've drugged and assaulted, asshole."

The guy nodded.

"Get out of my face," Damon said, shoving him away.

Elena watched Damon closely. "So the scarecrow has a heart after all. No wonder Stefan hasn't given up on you."

"You don't know the first thing about me," Damon said.

"I know you want to feed as much as I do right now." She took a step toward him. The scent of the blood dripping down her chin excited him. "And I know you have a thing for Bonnie." She ran the back of her hand down his cheek. "But she's too innocent for you. You'll ruin her."

Damon pushed her hand away, his emotions on edge. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about." Deep down, however, he knew Elena was right. He had done unspeakable things, even with his humanity switched on. He would only be a negative influence in Bonnie's life and he refused to drag her down with him.

Elena dragged him onto the dance floor. "Come on. This is a party. We're supposed to be having a good time."

He glanced at Bonnie, who smiled and laughed with the professor. She looked the happiest she had since they'd left Mystic Falls. Maybe he should let Bonnie decide what was best for her, since he didn't have the best track record.

Damon followed Elena onto the dance floor, letting the beat of the music wash his worries away. He was in need of a serious drink.

* * *

Bonnie found Damon and Elena dancing, blood soaking the front of their clothes. Damon had tossed his top hat and cape, his white shirt buttoned down to expose his neck and collarbone.

He led Elena in a dance, moving his body with hers. Jealousy crept out of nowhere as Bonnie realized how good the two of them looked together and how much fun they were having; though, she speculated they were high on something other than beer.

"What are you doing?" Bonnie yelled over the music.

"Dancing with you," Damon said, grabbing her to join them.

"Bonnie!" Elena said excitedly. She hugged her, smashing her face against her chest, effectively smearing Bonnie's face with blood. Elena planted a wet kiss on her forehead before releasing her.

Bonnie wiped her face with the back of her hand. "Gross!" she said.

Damon gripped Bonnie by the waist and turned her to face him. He grabbed her hand and placed his other on the small of her back, swaying to the music, his body pressed against hers.

"Dance with me, Bon-Bon," he whispered into her ear, giving her lobe a gentle tug with his teeth.

Heat rushed to Bonnie's cheeks and she tried to push him away, but he only tightened his grip around her waist. "Feel So Close" by Calvin Harris blasted in the background, heightening Bonnie's awareness of Damon's allure.

"I know what you're planning," Damon said, leaning in close.

The metallic scent of blood filled her nostrils, which she surprisingly found appealing. "And what is that?"

"Expression."

Elena joined them, dancing with Damon from behind.

"It's dark," Damon continued, "and dangerous. Not your style at all, sweetheart."

"You're spying on me now?" Bonnie asked with indignation, though she secretly found it flattering. "You don't know me."

"I know you better than you think." Damon licked dried blood off her cheek. "Mmm…sweet."

Bonnie's cheek blazed where Damon's tongue had touched her. "Don't even think about trying to stop me," she said in a shaky voice.

"It's not what your grandmother wanted."

The mood suddenly turned serious. His words struck a chord of guilt within Bonnie. He was right, she would be breaking the last promise she made to Grams. But she would surely forgive her once they were together again.

"I lost my magic," Bonnie impulsively confessed. "It's not like I could bring her back, even if I wanted to." She told the partial lie with relative ease. It was true that she hadn't been able to do magic since Grams's death, which only deepened her depression. But Shane assured her that Expression would help circumvent that problem.

Sympathy played on Damon's face. "Maybe it's for the best."

Bonnie felt the sudden urge to put as much distance between them as possible. "I think it's time we call it a night," she said, pulling away. She headed for the exit, feeling Damon's eyes on her.

Bonnie was determined to see Grams again and she refused to let Damon convince her otherwise.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter! As Bonnie learns Expression and develops her abilities as a witch, the dynamic between her and Damon will shift. Bonnie walking into the dark will force Damon out into the light, so their interactions should prove to be pretty interesting. More to come in the next couple of weeks! Thanks for the follows, favorites and reviews. You all are the best!**


	5. Chapter 5

Bonnie focused on the wick of the frankincense candle. The unlit piece of string taunted her, daring her to light it with magic.

"Clear your mind," Prof. Shane said from across the desk. "Feel your way back to your magic."

Bonnie squinted her eyes and crinkled her brow, focusing solely on the wick, speaking the incantation in a low whisper.

Only ten minutes remained until Shane's next class. She had been at this for almost two hours, with absolutely no result.

Bonnie had been meeting with Prof. Shane every Tuesday and Thursday since the two had met. He'd been kind enough to use his break between afternoon and evening classes to teach her everything he knew about Expression.

 _This would be a lot easier if he were actually a witch_ , Bonnie thought. She was grateful for his help, but it had been almost a month since they started and she was no closer to regaining her magic.

Bonnie exhaled sharply. "It's not working," she said, flinging herself back into the chair.

Shane sighed. "You're afraid," he said.

"Afraid?" Bonnie scoffed. "No offense, but you hardly even know me."

Since Grams's death, Bonnie had been on a short fuse. And these constant failures ate away at the fuse even further.

"I know a lot more than you think," Prof. Shane said. He moved to the bookcase behind his desk. "You and your grandmother were close. And you watched her die, unable to use your magic to save her." He scanned his finger across the books. "Post-traumatic stress is a beast of an emotion, one that's difficult for anyone to grapple with. Your mind needs as much healing as your heart."

Bonnie's anger dissipated, replaced by a desolate despair she feared would engulf her. Grams had been her life jacket, and without her she was slowly sinking, just barely treading water.

"I'm useless. I can't even light a cheap drugstore candle," Bonnie said, gazing out the window. A young woman sat on a bench with her lover, caressing his hair as he rested his head in her lap. She laughed at something he said, her face lighting up.

 _I'll never be happy again_. The thought stopped her cold.

Suddenly, the door to the professor's office swung open. Damon strolled through.

"Bon-Bon," Damon said with a smirk. He shot Shane a glare. "Professor Shady."

"What are you doing here, Damon?" Bonnie asked, surprised and annoyed.

"Your brunette bestie was more than happy to divulge your whereabouts," Damon said.

Bonnie frowned. She needed to have a conversation with Elena, though she doubted it would do any good. Her friend followed Damon around like a lost puppy nowadays. She seemed to spend more time with him than anyone else right now.

"You shouldn't be here. You're only going to distract Bonnie," Prof. Shane said, joining Bonnie at her side. His hostile tone surprised her; he was always so laid back. She suspected he had a darker side that he kept hidden, but that didn't worry her. Everyone had a right to keep their skeletons locked in as deep a closet as they liked.

"What happens between Bonnie and me is nothing to worry your curly little head about," Damon said, flashing his canines.

"You'd better get to class," Bonnie said to Shane, a little worried that Damon might try something. He'd made no attempt to hide his dislike for the mysterious scholar.

"Here," Shane said, handing her a book. The leather was worn at the corners and the tissue-thin pages were rough around the edges.

Bonnie opened the cover. The handwritten title read "Moses Magic." The author took her by complete surprise. "Harriet Tubman?" she asked, bewildered.

Damon snatched the book from her hands.

"Damon!" Bonnie yelled. Times like these made her grateful she'd never had a big brother.

"Harriet Tubman, huh?" Damon asked. "Remarkable witch."

"Witch?" Bonnie gasped. "You can't be serious."

"According to Emily, she was extremely gifted and tough as nails. She was also a really good shot. Never got a chance to meet her, though," Damon said.

Bonnie sometimes forgot Damon was over a century older than her. And that he'd once been lovers with her ancestor, Emily Bennett. The thought should have intimidated or disgusted her, but it oddly made her feel closer to him, knowing Damon had once been human and in love at one point in his life. He was just the sexy older guy in her eyes.

"Harriet Tubman was one of the most powerful witches to ever live," Professor Shane added. "And she freed over seventy enslaved families and friends."

"Spectacular," Bonnie said, snatching the book back from Damon.

"She risked her life for a greater good," Shane continued. "And I think reading this may help you tackle your own fears." He stuffed graded papers into his satchel. "I want you to have read the entire book by next week. No excuses."

The professor shot Damon a nasty look before departing.

"That guy really needs to get laid," Damon said. "Probably not a good idea to be alone with him, Bon-Bon."

Bonnie sighed, not in the mood for Damon's snarky comments. "How'd you even know I was here?" She placed the book and Grams's grimoire into her handbag.

Damon twirled a strand of her chestnut hair around his finger. "You weren't returning my phone calls, so you gave me no choice but to ambush you."

Bonnie swatted his hand away. "What I'm doing here is serious, Damon. And the last thing I need is you distracting me."

Damon's eyes lit up. "Am I really that much of a distraction?"

"Shut up," Bonnie said, wary of his heated gaze.

"Anyway, doesn't look like I interrupted much." Damon's eyes landed on the unlit candle.

Bonnie stuffed the candle into her bag, brushing past Damon on her way out.

In the blink of an eye, he was in front of her, blocking her way. The scent of his cologne, mixed with his unique spicy scent, made her mouth water.

 _Why does he always smell so good?_ Damon's hypnotic blue eyes began to draw her in. Bonnie took a step back, taking a deep breath of Damon-free oxygen.

"What's so important that it couldn't wait until I returned to Mystic Falls?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. "You didn't turn my other best friend into a vampire, did you?"

Damon gagged. "Don't even joke about something like that."

"Well, spit it out then. I haven't got all day."

"You're more prickly than usual," he said, examining her.

Bonnie found concern where she expected to see criticism. "I lost the two things that mattered the most to me in this world. Being moody is the least of my problems."

Bonnie refused to look away as her eyes watered. She was not ashamed of her sadness, she would make no attempts to hide it from him. He was the one who'd sought her out and he would have to deal with her as she was, which was kind of a wreck.

"You haven't lost everything," he said gently. "There are a lot of people who care about you."

"Really? Elena spends her every waking moment with you and Caroline is too busy hooking up with Tyler to even notice me. I don't have anyone."

Damon caressed her face with his eyes. "If you opened yourself up, you would see how much you mean to the people around you."

The loneliness took Bonnie's breath away. She wanted to let him in; to feel safe and have him tell her everything would be alright - the way he had the night Grams died.

But Damon was a vampire – the complete opposite of safe. He attracted danger like a magnet and killed at the drop of a hat.

Vampires lived and breathed death. Witches lived and breathed life. A relationship between the two could never end well.

"I can't," Bonnie said, closing herself off to him. "I have to focus on getting my magic back. And if you can't help me, then stay out of my way."

Bonnie rushed past Damon, ignoring the knot in her throat. Her heart wanted to turn back, but her desperation moved her forward.

* * *

Damon poured another glass of bourbon, the amber liquid sloshing over the side and onto his hand.

"Shit," he said, licking the liquor from the side of his palm. It was his fifth drink in less than an hour.

The emptiness in Bonnie's hazel eyes - usually so full of life - had worried him. His mother had gone through life with those same eyes, living in the shadow of an abusive husband. It pained him to imagine Bonnie struggling through her own personal hell. And it pissed him off that he couldn't help her.

In the end, he hadn't been able to save his mother, but he would do everything in his power to protect Bonnie; even if it meant protecting the girl from herself.

Pursuing Expression would kill her and he was the only one who could pull her back from the darkness, before she got sucked into that black hole.

He sank into his favorite leather armchair. A knock sounded at the door of his study.

"Go away!" Damon barked. He took a deep sip from the tumbler, the burn of the liquor as comforting as a hug.

"Damon, it's me," Elena said, opening the door.

Damon sighed. "Not in the mood, newbie," he said.

"It's important." Elena glided across the room, her movements more vampire than human.

Damon was impressed by how quickly she was adapting to her new abilities. He doubted she was as helpless as Stefan made her out to be.

"It better be," Damon said, leaning back into the couch and shutting his eyes.

"It's Jeremy. Something's wrong."

"Maybe I should clarify _important,_ " Damon said aciduously. Keeping Bonnie safe was his top priority. He didn't have time for Elena's teen drama.

"He skipped class two days in a row and won't come out of his room."

"Get Stefan to handle it. He actually likes your brother."

"Stefan and I broke up."

Damon sat up straight, his eyes shooting open. "What?"

Stefan with a newbie vampire girlfriend was on edge. Stefan with a broken heart would be unhinged.

Elena plopped onto the arm of his chair. "Lately, he's been avoiding me, not taking my calls. And then when we are together, he's a million miles away. He hates that I'm a vampire now, I know it."

Damon tuned into the hurt that she tried her best to hide. He knew the real reason for Stefan's aloofness – he was busy searching for the cure to vampirism – but he wouldn't be the one to spill the beans if Stefan hadn't already.

"So you dumped him?" Damon asked, slightly amused. _This is why you shouldn't date teenagers, bro_.

Damon rose from the armchair, in need of another drink. "For reasons I can't comprehend, Stefan loves you." He refilled the crystal tumbler. "He's just been busy taking care of some…family business."

"I don't really want to talk about Stefan, it's done." Elena's expression darkened. "My only concern now is Jeremy. He's never shut me out like this."

"What do you expect me to do about it, Elena? Jeremy can't help it, he was born a loser."

"I'm really worried about him." In a lowered voice, she said, "I've never told anyone this, but after our parents died, Jeremy overdosed on pills. I found him…we barely made it to the hospital in time."

Elena had a knack for ruining Damon's buzz. He felt like a dick for railing on Jeremy earlier. "Ok. I'll go with you to make sure the kid is still breathing, and that's it."

Elena hugged him from behind. "I knew I could count on you."

Damon unwrapped her arms from around his waist. "Yeah, yeah," he said, knocking back the rest of his drink.

* * *

Bonnie read through the invisibility spell Harriet Tubman had used to cloak herself and six slaves from bounty hunters. She marveled at how simple and yet complex the spell was.

The doorbell sounded, breaking her concentration.

Bonnie sighed, heading for the foyer. "Seriously? Who comes by without calling first?"

 _If it's Damon, I won't open the door,_ she thought with little conviction.

"Who is it?" Bonnie asked.

"Bonnie, it's me," a male voice said from the other side. "Jeremy."

"Jeremy?" He was the last person she'd expected to visit her.

Bonnie swept open the door. "Is Elena okay?"

Jeremy gave her a half-smile. "Besides the fact that she's a vampire? Yeah, she's okay."

Bonnie released the breath she'd been holding. "Thank goodness."

Now, Bonnie was even more confused about the meaning of his visit. Though they'd known each other since they were kids, they weren't exactly close friends. This was the first time he'd even been to Grams's house.

"What's up?" Bonnie asked.

"Can I come in?" Jeremy asked, shivering underneath his hoodie. The night was crisp but not all that chilly. She wondered if he was ill. Or using drugs again.

"Yeah," Bonnie said, stepping aside. She noticed the deep bags under his eyes as he entered. "I was just going to make some hot chocolate. You want a cup?" She led the way to the kitchen.

"Sure." He followed her, his footsteps heavy.

She hadn't been about to make hot chocolate, but he seemed to need something for comfort. Hot chocolate had been one of Grams's remedies for lifting Bonnie's mood and she figured it might work for Jeremy as well.

He dropped into a seat at the kitchen table. Bonnie put the kettle on the stove and a grabbed a pair of mugs from the cupboard. A light mist of silence lingered between them. Being alone with Jeremy reminded her of the time he'd asked her out on a date and she turned him down. It had been over three years ago, but she still felt awkward about it.

Bonnie leaned against the counter. "So…" she said, unsure of how to start the conversation.

"How long have you been a witch?" Jeremy blurted out.

Bonnie frowned. Apparently, telling secrets was a side effect of Elena's vampirism. His question did peak her interest, though.

"Since I was a kid, I guess. I've never really thought about it," Bonnie said.

And then she remembered – the morning she'd woken up and found her mother gone. And how every light in the house suddenly flickered on as she ran through the house weeping, searching for her mother.

"Since I was six years old," Bonnie said.

"How did you know that you were…different?"

Bonnie smiled. "I've never felt normal, if that's what you're asking. I just always had this extra sense – about nature, about people. Sometimes I saw things no one else did."

"Like hallucinations?" Jeremy asked.

The kettle whistled, interrupting them. Bonnie occupied herself with preparing the hot chocolate, a little concerned. She even thought about calling Elena.

She joined Jeremy at the table with mugs of steaming hot chocolate.

"Thanks," Jeremy said, wrapping his hands around the mug she handed him.

"Are you okay?" Bonnie asked.

"I've been seeing things – people – that aren't really there. And they tell me to…do things."

"What things?" Bonnie sipped her hot chocolate. She definitely needed to call Elena.

Jeremy closed his eyes, his expression pained. "To kill – to kill Elena." He lowered his head.

That was the last thing Bonnie had expected to hear. "Why would they tell you to kill your sister, Jeremy?"

"Because she's a vampire," he said, still avoiding eye contact.

 _He's definitely on something_ , Bonnie thought. She tried to remember which room she'd left her phone in. She was definitely calling Elena.

Jeremy sniffed, lifting his nose to the air. "Do you smell that?"

"Smell what?" Bonnie asked, certain he was smelling things that weren't there either.

But then she did smell it – smoke.

* * *

"Stay in the car," Damon said to Elena, shutting off the ignition. They sat in the driveway of Grams's house. They had tracked him here after not finding him at home.

The rose bush in the front yard blazed with orange flames.

"No, I'm coming with you," Elena said, grabbing the door handle.

"Just do as I say," he snapped.

Elena shot Damon a dirty look, but dropped her hand from the handle. "Fine," she said, crossing her arms.

He knew she wasn't happy about taking orders, but he also knew she would obey. He wasn't yet ready to face the implications of her constant obedience.

Damon zipped from the car and through the front yard in one smooth movement. He grabbed the garden hose, dousing the flames with water. Smoke wafted from the bush, the only remnant of the fire.

Damon simultaneously dropped the hose and sensed a presence behind him, whirling around just in time to deflect the blonde vampire's attempt to grab his neck.

"Damon!" Elena yelled. She was frantic, but remained in the car as he had ordered her to.

Damon slammed his fist into the vampire's chest, sending him flying across the yard. Damon was on top of the vampire in a split second, wrapping his hands around his throat. The vampire's long blonde hair was splayed out on the lawn behind him, his pale face contorted in pain. He grunted, trying to pry Damon's hands from around his neck.

"Don't kill him," a calm voice said to his right.

He turned to find a woman with Bonnie's petite stature and big hazel eyes standing next to him. She looked exactly as she had when he'd last seen her - over ten years ago.

"What the -" Damon started.

"Mom?" Bonnie asked from the front porch. She stood frozen in place, her hand across her chest. Jeremy stood behind her in the doorway, a large kitchen knife in his hand.

Damon sharply bent his hands, snapping the blonde vampire's neck. He'd wake up with a killer migraine in a few hours.

"Long time, no see, Abby," Damon said, matching the woman's glare.

For the first time in over a hundred years, Damon was afraid. When Bonnie found out the real reason her mother had abandoned her all those years ago, he feared she might never forgive him.

* * *

 **A/N: Please forgive me for the long wait on this chapter! I honestly wasn't sure if I could complete this story, as I've got a few other projects going on. But I had to come back, I just love these two characters too much to leave them hanging. Damon's and Bonnie's relationship will be seriously tested in the next chapter, but it should be a fun ride. Hope you stick around for the next update, which I promise will be sooner than this one. Looking forward to your follows, faves and reviews!**


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